Dimension, Depth, Space

In the design of a three dimensional virtual world, such as World of Warcraft, several depth cues are used to create the illusion of dimension, depth, and space on a flat screen. One of the cues used in the example above is overlap. Many of the objects, such as the flamingo, hills, and trees, overlap to create space. Relative size and height are also used because smaller objects are perceived as being farther away from the viewer while larger ones are closer. Atmospheric perspective is used as well in the example because the farther away the object it, the more foggy it appears. Looking at the grass, a texture gradient can be seen as the texture is more spaced out closer to the viewer. The grass is spaced closer when it is farther away until the texture is almost gone. Although not seen in the above example, in the World of Warcraft, flow pattern is used because objects on the sides of the avatar go past the screen of the viewer.

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/batgrl/3442554861/